Nightmare
by Omnisentinel
Summary: Seeking shelter at a nearby village, our three heroes find the village mysteriously empty. With a storm passing over them, where could the villagers have gone?
1. Default Chapter

Title: Nightmare

By: EVL5011

E-Mail: Evilwithagun5011Aol.com

AN: Just to let the reader know, I've decided not to include Miroku and Shippo. Its not that I don't like the characters, I just didn't want to many people in this story, it makes everything so much easier for me. Maybe, I'll have them briefly appear in one of the chapters (at least one of the two).

Chapter 1: Contagion of the mind

Somewhere far away, within a fortress covered by demon magic, Naraku sat on the floor of his room. A black shapeless mist hovered behind the evil hanyou, strange incoherent voices cried out from within it. "Animus, I need your special gift to destroy an enemy of mine. His name is InuYasha, and he has something that I want." The shapeless creature hovered above the floor and listened to Naraku's request. "InuYasha and his friends are in search of jewel shards, you must stop them at all costs and retrieve the few shards that they possess." Naraku turned and faced his new ally. "Take this single shard of the Shikkon Jewel, it will increase your power significantly. Now go and destroy them." The black mist covered Naraku's hand and the jewel shard disappeared. The strange mist slowly passed through the wall of the room and disappeared.

Meanwhile, in a vast field of grass, InuYasha, Kagome, and Sango journeyed through the beautiful grassland. The three came to a halt and decided to rest a while. They had been walking for two days, on a quest to find more jewel shards. Kagome and Sango both stood over the top of a hill and admired the glory of nature. "Its quite breath taking." Commented Kagome. Sango nodded her head in agreement and watched as a flock of birds flew overhead. Off in the distance, the two girls noticed what appeared to be a somewhat large village. "InuYasha, come and look at the view from here!" Kagome turned and noticed InuYasha lying on the ground. The hanyou was watching the clouds pass by. "Feh! Leave me alone!" yelled InuYasha "We've been walking for hours and we still haven't found a single shard of the Shikkon jewel. All this walking has made me hungry, don't you got anything to eat?" Kagome walked over to the silver haired hanyou and sat down beside him. "Sorry, I don't. I saw a village in the distance though. Lets go over there, maybe they have some food." Kagome stood up and walked back over to Sango. InuYasha got up and was suddenly startled by a loud thunder. The hanyou turned around and noticed black clouds in the sky.  

The light blue skies were turning black and a massive thunderstorm was approaching. "Kagome, Sango, lets get going. I don't think it's a good idea to stay outdoors. Kagome, you said there was a village somewhere." InuYasha walked over to the small hill and looked into the distance. "The village is over there." Sango pointed towards the horizon, showing InuYasha where the village was. With the storm behind them, the three adventures made their way across the evergreen fields and headed towards the small village.

After running for a while, they finally arrived at the village. The sky was now completely pitch black, and nobody was to be seen outside of the village. InuYasha, Kagome, and Sango cautiously entered the village. InuYasha noticed an open door and the three took shelter inside of the small house. "Hello? Is anybody here?" Kagome looked around the room. She noticed a kettle of boiling water over a fire, two plates with uneaten food, but not a soul, besides them. "Where could they be?" she thought to herself.

InuYasha looked around and smelled the scent of something strange in the air. He told Kagome and Sango not to leave the room. InuYasha entered the next room and found no one inside. The hanyou exited the house and ran through the rain, he entered another house and noticed the same thing. InuYasha ran from house to house, but found not a single person. Its as if everyone was whisked away. InuYasha ran back inside and locked the door behind him. "Something's wrong, I can't find anyone in the village."

"Where do you think they could've gone? Especially in this storm?" asked Kagome. The three remained silent as the storm poured down on the village. Thunder shattered the silence and shook the small house. "InuYasha, I feel the presence of something nearby, but I'm not sure what it is." Sango opened the door slightly and looked outside. The rain drenched the ground outside and the wind was blowing violently. "InuYasha sat down by the small fire and remained silent. The hanyou set tetsusaiga on the ground and looked down at the floor. "Well, at least I know that I'm not the only one who feels something strange. I smelled something foul in the air, but it didn't smell of any youkai, that I've come across." InuYasha contemplated on what he could've smelled, the scent had dissipated. "Whatever it was, its probably responsible for the village being empty. Although, there's no blood anywhere, where could everyone have gone?" InuYasha grabbed a piece of food off of a nearby plate. Kagome and Sango both sat down and poured themselves some water with tea. "Its strange that someone would leave a kettle of water boiling unattended. Whatever happened here happened fast." Sango took a sip from her cup and listened to the rain hitting the small house. The wind howled outside and caused Kagome and Sango to feel uneasy.

Suddenly, there was a strange moaning in the room next door. It sounded like multiple people crying out in agony. InuYasha and Sango both stood up and grabbed their weapons. The two carefully approached the wooden door and opened it. The room was dark. The candles that lit the room had gone out, when, a burst of lightning lit up the room. Sango and InuYasha caught a glimpse of a strange creature. The two moved back, and the cries got louder, a large shapeless mass of black smoke appeared in front of them. The faces of the dead were vaguely visible inside of it. Kagome gasped in horror as it entered the room. InuYasha recognized its scent; it was whatever he had smelled earlier. The faces of the people inside of it seemed to plea for freedom.

InuYasha unsheathed tetsusaiga and swung the phantom sword at the strange, shapeless being. Tetsusaiga passed right through it and the shapeless creature remained unharmed. "InuYasha! Our weapons won't have any effect on it. Its not a demon!" yelled Sango. "So what is it then?" asked InuYasha while moving back. "It's a Akurei! (Evil Spirit)" InuYasha turned around and noticed that they were being backed into a wall. He quickly used tetsusaiga and cut the wall down, giving them more space to maneuver.

"I've had enough of this!" InuYasha commanded the two girls to move back. He raised tetsusaiga into the air concentrated on searching for the Wind Scar. "There! Now's my chance!" The hanyou swung tetsusaiga and a massive force exploded towards the strange black spirit. Part of the wall and ceiling behind the Akurei was destroyed. Rain poured in and saturated the wooden floor. Once the dust and debris cleared, the black mist reappeared; it was untouched by InuYasha's futile attack. The Akurei drew closer and stopped mere feet away from them. Suddenly, a dark red mist entered the entire room. It appeared to be coming from the Akurei. InuYasha, Kagome and Sango began to inhale the strange mist. They immediately felt sick to the stomach; the smell was that of a rotting corpse. Our three heroes felt tired and fell to the ground. They resisted the urge to sleep. It seemed that the red mist wasn't strong enough to render them unconscious and they immediately got back up. InuYasha rubbed his eyes and wiped the tears from his face. His strong senses were doing more harm then good. Kagome and Sango moved back, when Kagome felt the presence of a Shikkon jewel shard. She knew the Akurei had it, but she couldn't see it. InuYasha noticed Kagome looking strangely at the spirit and knew that something was afoot. The red mist made it hard to see in front of them and the Akurei was moving slowly for some reason.

"What is it Kagome? Does it have a shard of the sacred jewel?" InuYasha moved back and held tetsusaiga tightly, knowing that any moment the Akurei could strike.

"It does, but I don't see it. The strange mist around it is hiding it." Kagome and Sango both moved back further into the room. The two girls noticed that they were out of space. In a desperate move Sango walked forward and ordered that InuYasha move. She held the large boomerang in her hand and threw it with all of her strength at the Akurei. The strange black mist was struck with the massive boomerang and dissipated into a fine ash. Strangely enough, some of the red mist remained in the air and gradually disappeared. A single shard of the Shikkon jewel fell to the ground and Kagome approached it with caution. "You got to be kidding me, Tetsusaiga couldn't hurt it, but Sango's weapon did?" InuYasha walked out towards Kagome and felt the rain pelt him from above. Sango followed behind and looked at the jewel shard that Kagome held in her hand.

As they stood outside of the partially destroyed house, all three of them felt sick to the stomach. An unsettling feeling caused each one of them to become dizzy. Their entire bodies felt weak and cold. Suddenly, their vision became blurred and obscured for some unknown reason. They entered a trance like state, staring at each other with unseeing eyes.


	2. The lost sibling

Title: The Nightmare

By: EVL5011  

E-Mail: EVILWITHAGUN5011AOL.com

AN: If you've followed the story closely, our three heroes are now in a sleep-like trance. First character to have his/her nightmare is going to be Sango. Each one will "awaken" in his/her nightmare by a loud thunder.

Chapter 2: The lost sibling

            A large bolt of lightning crashed against an enormous tree, startling Sango, and bringing her out of her trance. InuYasha and Kagome both stared at the young youkai hunter. "Are you okay?" asked Kagome. Sango was uncertain, she felt light-headed and was still a bit dizzy. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened." Sango replied. Sango looked on the ground and examined the fine black. Just as she was about to touch it, a rattling chain was heard nearby. She stood up and before them stood Naraku and Kohaku. Sango was surprised to see her brother again.

            "You've destroyed my minion, it doesn't matter. You have something that I want, and your going to give it to me." Naraku and Kohaku both moved forward. InuYasha and Sango both took a defensive stance, holding their weapons tightly. "So are you going to talk, or fight?" yelled InuYasha. "Always the arrogant hanyou. All I need are the remaining shards that Kagome has in her possession. One way or the other, I'm going to take them from her." Smirked Naraku.

            "Kagome stay back. This won't take long." InuYasha looked at Sango and tightened his grip on tetsusaiga. "Sango, you ready?" he asked. Before Sango even had a chance to reply Naraku shot forth a large amount of brown tendrils from within his sleeve. The strange appendages struck InuYasha knocking him against the wall. Sango threw her boomerang at Naraku and severed the tendrils. Naraku darted back and avoided being hit by the returning weapon. Naraku continued his assault and Kohaku stood a few feet behind him. As Naraku continued his attack, InuYasha and Sango easily repelled it.

            Naraku seemed frustrated by the two and looked at Kohaku. "Kohaku…why don't you entertain our two friends, while I retrieve the Shikkon jewel shards from Kagome." Naraku summoned forth a large swarm of flying insects to protect him while he escaped. InuYasha and Sango killed the remaining insects and stood face to face with Kohaku. The young boy began to swing his chain and moved forward. InuYasha knew that he couldn't hurt Sango's brother and looked Sango in the eyes. "Do you think that you can take him? Because if you can't, you know that I won't hesitate to kill him." InuYasha and Sango both moved back towards the destroyed wall and jumped onto the wet ground. "Keep him busy, I'll try and restrain him." Sango moved away from InuYasha and circled behind her brother.

            Kohaku followed InuYasha's every move and threw the chain at him. The hanyou jumped over the attack and watched as the sharp blade cut down four nearby trees. Sango lunged at her brother and was struck by the large radius that the chain covered. The young demon hunter was thrown back and noticed that she was injured. "Kohaku, stop! Don't you recognize me? I'm your sister!" Sango's pleas fell on deaf ears, and her brother turned to look at her. His stare was completely blank; he was under Naraku's complete control. InuYasha ran at Kohaku at top speed and raised tetsusaiga in the air. Before he could even swing, the young boy jumped over him and landed behind him. Tetsusaiga missed its intended target and nearly hit Sango who was close by. InuYasha nearly struck Sango with his phantom sword and stopped in mid-swing. Just as he turned around, the sharp blade on Kohakus' weapon cut across the air, flying in front of him. The blade sliced across the unsuspecting hanyou's neck, fatally injuring him.

            Sango was in shock to see her friend inured and caught him, before he fell to the ground. InuYasha released tetsusaiga and stared at Sango. She felt the hanyou's warm blood dripping onto her lap. Sango tore a piece of clothing from her sleeve and wrapped it around InuYasha's neck. She lay him on the ground and stood back up, holding her boomerang in one hand. Kohaku looked at her with his blank stare. "Kohaku…I'm sorry it has to be this way." With all of her strength she threw the boomerang at her brother. The young boy jumped into the air and avoided the attack with ease. While in the air, the young boy swung the chain and threw it down towards his sister. Sango caught her returning weapon and blocked the attack from brother. Sango had the chance to strike him down, but hesitated. It was her younger brother after all. "Kohaku, I'm pleading with you. Stop!" A single tear emerged from her eye as she repelled the unfaltering attacks by her brother.

            "I see that InuYasha has fallen victim to your loving brother." Naraku walked out from the shadows and held Kagome by the wrist. "This would've been much easier, if only you three would've given me the jewel shards." Naraku gave an inauspicious smile and threw Kagome onto the ground. Kagome fell next to InuYasha, who was bleeding to death. The rain continued to pour down on the ground, and Kohaku stopped his attack. Sango fell to her knees and dropped her weapon. Naraku laughed in the background, as the two girls were unable to continue, all was lost.

            "Kagome…I'm sorry, that I've failed to protect you." InuYasha smiled and held Kagomes' hand tightly. The young hanyou was near death. Even with his strength and resilience, he couldn't survive his fatal wound. Kagome held back tears and watched as her friend, her protector died in her arms. Sango had enough and she stood back up with her weapon in hand and gave Naraku a long cold stare. Even with the rain pouring down on her she approached him. Naraku smiled in confidence and a sharp piercing object cut across her back. Sango fell on one knee and turned around, Kohaku caught his weapon as it returned to him. "To get to me, you have to kill your brother." Naraku walked away from Sango and stopped next to the partially destroyed house. The hanyou took shelter from the rain underneath the roof of the house and watched from a distance.

            "Don't…I don't want to hurt you." Sango pleaded with her brother. Kohaku continued swinging his chain and sickle and threw it once more. The sickle was blocked by Sango's boomerang, but her weapon cracked by its impact. Sango blocked all of her brother's attacks and continued pleading with him. Sango's weapon eventually broke in two; it couldn't take any more punishment. Now defenseless, Sango stumbled onto the ground, next to InuYasha and Kagome. Sango knew that Kagome was in shock after losing InuYasha. She had to find a weapon and she then noticed tetsusaiga on the ground. It was next to InuYasha. She grabbed it off the wet ground and stood back up, even though it was in its weak state, she could use the scabbard to block Kohaku's attacks.

            Sango stood up and began to advance on her brother. Kohaku swung the chain with such force, that a loud whirling sound began to echo throughout the village. Sango ran at her brother and lunged at him, he threw the chain and sickle at her, the chain wrapped itself around the scabbard. Sango stood right in front of her brother; she looked into his blank eyes and took a deep breath. Kohaku released his weapon; Sango had thrust a dull tetsusaiga into her brother's chest. The young boy collapsed onto the muddy ground. He remained perfectly still, when Sango kneeled down beside him. "Sango? Where a-am I?" Kohaku asked. Sango picked up her brother in her arms and held him tightly. "I'm so sorry Kohaku, but I didn't have a choice." Sango looked at her brother and realized that he was dead. Sango lowered her head and heard Naraku laughing hysterically at her misfortune.

            "Had he killed you, he would've still been alive." Naraku walked out from underneath the structure. Sango remembered that Kagome was in the middle of the two of them. Kagome was traumatized from losing InuYasha; Sango grabbed Kohaku's chain from the ground and slowly got back up. "Kagome, you're going to have to be strong. You need to get up and get to safety." Sango noticed that Kagome wasn't listening to a single word. Naraku walked over to Kagome and picked her up by her hair. "Its unfortunate that she has to die." Naraku lifted Kagome up in the air and looked her in the eyes. The large tendrils underneath Naraku's sleeve wrapped themselves around Kagome's neck. They slowly tightened and the young girl began to gasp for air. Naraku laughed as Sango watched, the hanyou was taking great pleasure in torturing her.

            "Enough!" Shouted Sango. She launched the chain and sickle forward, striking the evil hanyou in the chest. His eyes widened as he looked down at the protruding blade. In a last act of revenge he crushed Kagome's neck and killed her. "Kagome! You bastard!" Sango pulled on the chain and the blade returned to her hand. She immediately threw it back with at Naraku. The blade struck him in the face with such force that his head split down the middle. The vile hanyou fell to the ground and released Kagome's lifeless body. Naraku's body convulsed violently before finally dying and burst into a thick, black ash.      

            The completed Shikkon jewel lay on top of Naraku's ashes. Sango fell on her knees and began to cry. She had killed Naraku, but at the cost of all those that she loved and cared deeply for. Wiping the tears from her face she stood up and approached the sacred jewel. Sango held it in her hand and gripped it tightly. "Was it really worth it?" she thought to herself. Sango looked around and stared at the bodies of her brother and her friends.

            Just as everything looked bleak, it stopped raining. Sango looked up at the sky and noticed that the moon wasn't in the sky. Sango knew immediately that something was wrong. There weren't any stars in the sky, not even a cloud. Sango looked around and noticed a red mist coming up from the ground. The Akurei materialized ten yards away from her. "It's not possible!" she thought. "How? I destroyed you!" Sango looked around and noticed the bodies on the ground dissolving into black ooze. Its black mist didn't hide the Akurei anymore; it revealed its true form.

            It was a sphere of flesh, bone, and the faces of its victims, all whom cried out in a symphony of pain. Sango was stricken with fear and had no idea what was going on. The Akurei drew closer and a skeletal face detached itself and pinned itself to Sango. The young girl closed her eyes and heard the wailing of the dead, and then it became silent.

            Sango reopened her eyes and noticed that she standing in front of Kagome and InuYasha. "Sango are you feeling okay?" asked Kagome. Sango looked around and noticed that it was raining, was it all some bizarre dream. "I don't know." Sango trembled with fear and heard Naraku's laughter behind them. The evil hanyou stepped out from the shadows, with Kohaku behind him. Her nightmare was repeating itself, and she was going to have to go through it, again, and again, and again, and again….


	3. Losing the one you love

Title: Nightmare

By: EVL5011

E-Mail: EVILWITHAGUN5011AOL.com

AN: In the last chapter, Sango is forced to repeat the same horrible nightmare. In this chapter, InuYasha will have a nightmare too. It starts the same as the last one.

Chapter 3: Losing the one you love

            A loud explosion echoed outside, InuYasha shook his head and looked around, a bolt of lightning struck a nearby tree. Setting it on fire and lighting up the dark section of forest around it. Kagome and Sango were both examining the jewel shard that was left behind. InuYasha rubbed his eyes and approached the two young girls. "What's wrong InuYasha? You don't look to good." Asked Kagome. Unsure on what he was experiencing the hanyou focused his sight on the remains of the Akurei. With a sharp throbbing pain in his head, InuYasha leaned against a wall. "I'm not sure, but my head hurts like hell!" The two girls took the hanyou's arms over their shoulders and got him out of the rain. They entered the undamaged section of the house and had him lay down on the hardwood floor.

            InuYasha rested for five minutes and finally got back up on his feet. With a strange feeling in his gut, he rubbed his temples and sighed. "That seemed to easy." InuYasha examined the interior of the room and felt as if something was terribly wrong. The small house began to shake as the storm raged on. InuYasha walked around the small poorly lit room and looked outside. Something caught his attention almost immediately; it was a large swarm of Naraku's poisonous flying insects. InuYasha moved away from the window and warned the two girls about the impending danger. The three protagonists moved far away from the wall and took cover.

            The wall exploded sending dust and debris at them. The flying insects entered the room and completely surrounded our three heroes. Sango and InuYasha quickly leapt into action killing over two dozen of the flying insects, but for every one they killed four would take their place. "Naraku must be near somewhere." InuYasha blurted out. The hanyou performed his "Iron Reaver-Soul Stealer" attack, clearing a path for them to make their escape. InuYasha grabbed the two girls by the waist and leapt through the swarm of insects.

            Once they got to a safe distance a bolt of lightning struck the house that they were hiding in. It exploded into thousands of small pieces killing Naraku's insects. "Where the hell is he? Show yourself, you coward!" InuYasha unsheathed tetsusaiga and looked around for Naraku. In the dark cover of the forest emerged the evil hanyou. His hair was soaking wet and covered the front of his face. "Naraku!" InuYasha stepped forward and gritted his teeth.

            "InuYasha why don't you just have Kagome hand over the last of the jewel shards. You know that eventually I retrieve them from her." Naraku laughed as he completed his little speech. "We'll never hand them over to the likes of you. I still have a debt to settle you. You're responsible for Kikyo's death. And, you'll pay for tricking her into pinning me to that fuing tree!" InuYasha squeezed the handle of the phantom sword as tightly as he could and leapt at Naraku. The evil hanyou raised his hand and shot forth a dozen tendrils. InuYasha was thrown back, sending him crashing into the side of a house.

            Sango quickly threw her boomerang at Naraku and struck his tendrils, slicing them clean off. Naraku plunged his fist into the ground and five tendrils grabbed Sango by the ankles. Her boomerang was returning to her and she was caught off guard. The massive weapon struck her across the head, causing her neck to snap back. "Ugghhh…" The female youkai hunter fell to the ground. The trauma to her head caused a large amount of blood to spill onto the muddy ground. Kagome ran over to help her, but was stopped by the hidden tendrils underneath.

            InuYasha opened his eyes and noticed Sango lying on the ground. He soon realized that Kagome was in trouble too. He picked tetsusaiga off the ground and ran over to Kagome. He raised the phantom sword in the air and chopped off Naraku's inhuman appendages. InuYasha picked up Kagome and Sango off the ground and ran as fast as he could. He leapt into the air and kicked the door off a small house. He set the two girls on the floor and realized that Sango was barely breathing. "Kagome help Sango, she hemorrhaging. Try and stop the bleeding." The hanyou ran out of the house and noticed that Naraku was gone. InuYasha cautiously walked around outside, and felt cold as the rain poured down on him. The hanyou looked around and came across the severed tendrils on the ground. He stopped and bent down to pick up Sango's weapon, which had a small amount of flesh of the edge.

            InuYasha thrust the boomerang deep into the ground and heard Kagome scream. "InuYasha! Help!" The silver haired hanyou ran back to the small house and entered. Sango lay on the wooden floor motionless; she was dead. The trauma to the head was too severe and she had expired. "Damn you to hell Naraku! I'll kill you, if you hurt Kagome!" InuYasha raised tetsusaiga and destroyed a large section of the house. The hanyou jumped back outside and heard Naraku's maniacal laughter in the distance. InuYasha followed the sound of and ran into Kagura. She hid her face behind her large fan and slowly lowered it.

            "Poor InuYasha, couldn't help Sango, and now she's dead!" Kagura laughed at the hanyou's misfortune and pointed her fan towards him. A massive volley of light shot at the hanyou, cutting him multiple times across the body. InuYasha withstood the attack and swung the phantom sword at Kagura. The wind sorceress didn't expect InuYasha to react as quickly as he did and was severed in two. Her upper torso fell to the ground and she attempted to drag herself away from his rage. InuYasha walked behind her and thrust tetsusaiga through her back, pinning her to the ground. The wind sorceress gave out a silent cry as the hanyou pulled tetsusaiga from her back. Her blood saturated the wet ground and she died where she lay. Kagura's corpse slowly turned into ash and was blown away by the strong winds of the storm.

            InuYasha breathed deeply as he followed the scent of Naraku in the air. InuYasha walked through the large village and caught a glimpse of something in the shadows. It was Naraku and he had Kagome in front of him. The young Miko was barely conscious. "How disappointing, I spent so much time on creating Kagura and she was defeated in a matter of seconds. Maybe next time I'll create someone more reliable. That just leaves you, me and Kagome." Naraku ran his fingers through the young girls long hair. It would be a shame if something horrible were to happen to her." With an evil smile on his face Naraku placed his hand behind Kagome.

            "If you hurt her in any way, I swear I'll…" abruptly interrupted InuYasha watched as a sharp tendril pierced through Kagome's shoulder. The young girl woke up with a loud scream as Naraku pulled his tendril out of her. ""You'll WHAT!?" yelled Naraku. "You fail to acknowledge that I possess the completed Shikkon jewel and I hold in my hands the very person you hold dear." Naraku gently caressed Kagome's head and gently ran his hand through her hair once more. The young girl turned pale and fell unconscious in the evil hanyou's arms. "In case you're wondering, a large amount of poison has entered her body. You have a matter of minutes to save her." Naraku released Kagome and let the young girl fall onto the wet ground.

            "You Chikushoume! I tear you limb from limb!" yelled InuYasha as he jumped towards Naraku. Naraku raised his arm and his tendrils shot forth, knocking InuYasha backwards. Before he smashed into the side a nearby house, the dog-demon used the momentum to jump forward. With his speed, he raised tetsusaiga and swung the massive blade at the evil hanyou. Naraku was unable to block the sharp sword and was cut across the arms, as he tried to repel the attack. Naraku blocked the majority of InuYasha's attacks and found that he was tiring. InuYasha stopped for a second and Naraku knew all to well that the dog-demon was preparing to use the "Wind Scar".

            With the storm raging on, thunder struck the wet ground behind Naraku, sending an unknown amount of electricity throughout his entire body. Momentarily stunned, InuYasha used this to his advantage and swung tetsusaiga. A bright burst of light shot towards Naraku, the evil hanyou disappeared in the intense light. The ground around Naraku exploded and shredded the evil hanyou's body into multiple pieces. InuYasha examined the ground in front of him and found what remained of Naraku.

            Naraku's body lay scattered all over the muddy ground, and InuYasha approached what remained of his enemy. "Hahahahaaa…" Naraku's upper torso was torn from the rest of his body, as he looked up at InuYasha. "It seems that you've finally managed to defeat me. You've gained only one thing and that is the completed Shikkon jewel, but you've lost something too." InuYasha kneeled down in front of Naraku and picked his mutilated body off the ground. "Yeah, and what's that?" asked InuYasha, while looking his enemy in the eyes. Naraku turned his head and looked over into distance. "Kagome…" The evil hanyou chuckled with a gleeful look on his face.

            "You bastard! Where's the antidote?" InuYasha grabbed Naraku by the throat and pressed his thumb into the evil hanyou's neck. "I-I'm sad to say…there is no antidote. There never was, I had no intention of letting her live." InuYasha shut his eyes and tightened his grip on Naraku and tore his head off. Naraku's head rolled onto the muddy ground and disintegrated into ash. The rest of his body followed, leaving the completed Shikkon jewel behind.

            InuYasha stood up and ran over to Kagome who was staring up into the sky. "Kagome…hold on a little bit longer." InuYasha looked around the empty village and shouted out for help. His cries echoed throughout the empty village, he looked at Kagome and hugged her tightly against his chest. The dog-demons heart was filling with sorrow, he knew that he was going to lose another person that he loved. "I-InuYasha? Why are you crying?" asked Kagome in a weak voice. "Because I failed to protect you. Kagome…there's something I've always wanted to tell you. I can't live if you're not by my side. You complete me. I-I'm lost without you…" InuYasha wiped the tears from his face and listened to Kagome's heartbeat slow down. "What I mean to say is…I love you, and now it's to late…you'll never know how I've felt about you" InuYasha looked at Kagome and noticed that she had died in his arms.

            The hanyou laid the young Miko on the ground and remained on his knees. With the rain still pouring down on him, he raised his head slightly and looked over to where Naraku died. The Shikkon jewel rested on top of his ashes, the hanyou stood up and walked over the jewel. InuYasha picked it up and held it tightly in the palm of his hand. The hanyou dropped tetsusaiga on the wet ground. Just as his sword hit the ground, the strange red mist began to appear out of nowhere. "What the hell?" InuYasha looked around and realized that it was the same mist from earlier.

            InuYasha stood up and watched as Kagome's body disappeared before his very eyes. He quickly picked up tetsusaiga and pulled it out of its scabbard. The hanyou opened his hand and took notice that the Shikkon jewel had turned into black ooze. The young dog-demon looked around and the Akurei appeared a few feet away from him.

            "What the fu? Sango destroyed you. I knew that something was wrong!" InuYasha unsheathed tetsusaiga and waited for the eerie spirit to get closer. InuYasha placed his feet firmly into the ground and watched as the Akurei drew closer by the second. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to find out." InuYasha swung tetsusaiga into the air, cutting the Wind Scar, and engulfing the Akurei in its force. Just as the light cleared the Akurei remained untouched by the attack. The evil entity stopped a few inches away from InuYasha and a partially rotted head emerged from inside of it. The head flew towards InuYasha, while screaming, and exploded upon hitting him. InuYasha was deafened by the loud sound and everything went blank. With the sound of the moaning dead in his head he opened his eyes, only to find himself standing in front of Kagome and Sango.

            "InuYasha are you okay?" Kagome approached InuYasha and looked him in the eye. "Kagome…Sango, you're both okay?" InuYasha examined the two girls and looked around. He was standing inside of the partially destroyed house and the ashes of the Akurei lay on the ground. "Kagome…I-I…forget it." InuYasha walked back inside the small house and sat down on the floor. Sango and Kagome both followed the hanyou inside and sat down beside him. "Are you sure you're okay?" asked Sango. "To be honest with you, I'm not sure. Maybe the Akurei fumes gave me some kind of bad dream or something." InuYasha stood up and walked over to a nearby window. Just as he watched the storm outside, he heard the ominous sound of Naraku's flying insects.

            "No, it can't be. I got to be dreaming." InuYasha moved away from the window and the two girls behind him wondered why he was acting so strangely. He then realized that nothing had any scent, suddenly, the wall exploded and the flying insects entered the small room. The poisonous insects surrounded the three protagonists' and InuYasha was frozen in fear. Everything slowed down for the hanyou and the cries of the dead began to echo throughout his head. "It's a dream. No, it's a nightmare…." With the insects around him, InuYasha dropped tetsusaiga on the floor and closed his eyes. "It's only a dream, it's only a dream…" He repeated to himself. The screams of Kagome and Sango rang through his head as he blocked everything out. He desperately wanted it to be a terrible nightmare.


	4. Lies and Betrayal

Title: Nightmare

By: EVL5011

E-Mail: Omnipotentevil5011yahoo.com

AN: In this chapter, Kagome's nightmare will unfold. Enjoy!

Chapter 4: Lies and Deceitfulness

The rain poured down on Kagome and the young girl was oblivious that she was soaking wet. A loud thunder broke the silence and awoke her from her trance like state. With the Shikkon jewel shard in her hand, Sango gently tapped on Kagome's shoulder.

"Are you okay? You seemed a little distracted." Asked Sango. The youkai hunter smiled and walked back inside the small house with Kagome. InuYasha shadowed the two girls, watching over them like a hawk.

Taking a seat on the floor, Kagome thought to herself, "What just happened? I feel strange." She examined the interior of the room and saw that it was a large library. Books lay scattered on the floor, papers were torn and strewn about, whatever happened here, happened fast. Kagome looked at the Shikkon jewel shard and put it with the others that they had retrieved. They would've had more, had Kikyo not stolen them from her. "Why does InuYasha care so deeply for somebody that only wished to kill him?" She thought to herself.

InuYasha walked over to a nearby window and stood watch. Sango joined Kagome and sat down on the floor. "Its strange, isn't it?" asked Kagome.

"What is?" Sango listened attentively as Kagome placed the Shikkon jewel shards on the floor.

"That Akurei, it wasn't as strong as I thought it would be. Normally, Naraku sends some incarnation of himself or a powerful demon, but he didn't. He sent some spirit after us and oddly enough, it was destroyed by your weapon." Kagome tried hard not to offend Sango's skills, but even she knew that a boomerang wasn't strong enough to kill a spirit.

InuYasha moved away from the window and quickly approached the two girls with tetsusaiga drawn, "Kagome, Sango get up. Something's outside."

Sango walked cautiously towards InuYasha, but before she could even react the window exploded. Large pieces of glass were sent into the air. The flying debris cut both Sango and InuYasha, sending a mist of blood into the air. Standing outside in the rain was Naraku, which was accompanied by Kagura and Kanna.

InuYasha, Kagome and Sango stepped back as Naraku and his minions entered the small structure. With the rain entering the room, InuYasha valiantly moved forward. Just as InuYasha was about to blindly lunge at Naraku, the young girl pulled him back, "InuYasha he has the Shikkon jewel. It's nearly completed, all he needs are the few shards that we have to complete it." Kagome knew all to well that this might be the final encounter with the sinister hanyou. Kagura and Kanna both stepped in front of Naraku and blocked the evil hanyou with their bodies. Kagura and Kanna turned their heads slightly and nodded to a silent command from Naraku.

"I knew I smelled the scent of a coward!" smirked InuYasha. The hanyou and Sango both knew that they had to perform their best.

"Kanna, Kagura deal with InuYasha and Sango. I'll retrieve the last Shikkon jewel shards from Kagome." Naraku moved back and disappeared into the shadows.

With lightning and thunder as their background music, InuYasha and Sango both began their attack on Naraku's subordinates. Kagome moved turned around and looked into the distance, across from where she stood was a nearby house. Moving quickly she jumped down onto the ground and made her way to the small structure. She pushed the door and walked inside, making sure that nobody was waiting for her. The interior of the house was poorly lit, but in the distance was a large assortment of weapons. The wall was decorated with katana swords, knifes, and various spears. Kagome approached the weapons and found what she so desperately needed, a bow and arrow.

Meanwhile, InuYasha and Sango both fought with all of their strength. Sango threw her boomerang at Kagura and crossed her fingers that Kanna wouldn't reverse it. The massive weapon flew across the air and struck Kagura, the wind sorceress was knocked off balance by the attack and fell face first onto the ground.

InuYasha darted towards Kanna and punched the small child, knocking the mirror out of her hands. With both of their enemies on the ground InuYasha leapt high into the air and looked for the Wind Scar. Swinging with all of his might, the darkness around them was engulfed by the light from the tetsusaiga. Kanna and Kagura both raised their arms, in a vain attempt protect themselves, disappearing in the attack. InuYasha and Sango both watched as the two demons were destroyed in one powerful blow.

"Sh! Where the hell did Kagome run off to?" InuYasha looked around and found that she had disappeared. The hanyou put tetsusaiga back into its sheath and sniffed the air for her scent. Almost immediately, he knew in which direction she had run off to. He and Sango ran out into the open and ran towards a small house, which had its door open. Once the two entered the house they were greeted by Naraku, who had Kagome corned.

"InuYasha! Help!" Kagome desperately looked for a means of escape, but knew that there wasn't any. Holding the bow in her hand she counted the arrows on the wall. She only had five and if she were to use them, she had to hit her target.

Naraku turned around and smiled at his two pursuers. "It appears that Kagura and Kanna weren't capable of killing you two. I guess I should've killed you two a long time ago when I had the chance." Raising his arms at InuYasha and Sango, his tendrils shot forth. Naraku struck them and knocked them against the wall.

Sango hastily recovered and launched her weapon at Naraku. Her boomerang cut through his thick tendrils, and cut him across the shoulder. The boomerang turned after hitting Naraku and returned to its owner.

Naraku grimaced in pain as his abnormal appendages fell onto the ground. InuYasha unsheathed tetsusaiga and lunged at an unsuspecting Naraku. The sharp sword sliced across Naraku and tore his left arm clean off his body. The evil hanyou's blood spilled onto the wooden floor.

"Get over here now!" shouted InuYasha. The dog-demon knew that Naraku would recover in a few seconds. The young girl ran across the room and circled around Naraku. She immediately ran behind her two friends and ducked down as Sango threw her boomerang once more.

Sango's weapon spun with an incredible speed and severed Naraku's right arm off. The seemingly invincible demon was hemorrhaging from his two injuries. Blood painted the floor red, Naraku fell to his knees and gasped in shock. InuYasha ran at his enemy with tetsusaiga in the air and swung.

"DIIIIEEEEE!" shouted InuYasha. His sword cut down Naraku's head and tore straight through his entire body. Naraku's face distorted in pain as he was cut in two, the evil hanyou's blood and vital organs spilled onto the floor.

Naraku's two-halves dropped down side-by-side and burst into a furious fire. The eerie flame lit up the room with its blue light and disappeared, leaving behind a pile of ashes.

"Its over?" Kagome felt as if it was all too easy. She had expecting a battle of apocalyptic proportions. The young Miko walked over to the smoldering pile of ashes and noticed the glimmer of the Shikkon jewel. Holding it in her left hand, she searched her pocket for the remaining shards. The second she put her shards next to Naraku's they immediately fused together and formed the completed Shikkon jewel. "We've done it!" Kagome smiled and turned around to show InuYasha and Sango the Shikkon Jewel. To her shock Sango stood frozen with a sharp blade protruding from her chest.

InuYasha pulled tetsusaiga out of Sango and kicked her forward. The female demon hunter fell in front Kagome and began to breath deeply. Sango reached up for Kagome, "Kagome…InuYasha only wanted…the Shikkon jewel." Sango took one last breath and died on the floor.

Slowly approaching her, InuYasha wiped the blood from his sword. "Kagome, give me the sacred jewel." with a threatening tone in his voice, he extended his hand out.

"InuYasha why did you kill Sango? She was our friend, she fought by your side numerous times." Kagome moved back and put the Shikkon in her pocket. She then raised the bow and arrow and aimed it at InuYasha.

"Don't be stupid! You couldn't hit me if I walked towards the arrow!" smirked InuYasha. "You seriously thought that I was hanging around you and those other idiots so that you could neutralize the Shikkon jewels power? Now, be a good girl and give it to me! Or I might just have to kill you too!"

"But, I thought that you cared about me? You saved my life so many times." Pleaded Kagome. The young girls' hands trembled as she held the bow. "Is that what you had planned all along?"

"You stupid kuso! I never cared for you. The only reason I saved your pathetic life was that you were the only one who could detect the jewel shards. But, now that it's completed, I don't have any use for you." InuYasha held tetsusaiga in his two hands and stopped a few feet away from Kagome. With the thought of being a full-fledged demon on his mind, he quickly dismissed any ties that he had. "I don't want to hurt you! Now give it to me!"

"I-I'm sorry InuYasha…" Kagome released her grip on the arrow and shut her eyes. InuYasha was caught off guard and froze when the arrow plunged itself into his heart and sent him backwards towards the wall. The arrow pulsed with the Miko's power.

Tetsusaiga fell onto the floor beside Sango's body and InuYasha was pinned against the wall, "Kagome…." With his right hand extended out, InuYasha's head slumped down as he fell asleep.

"Why InuYasha? Why did you have to betray me?" The young Miko walked over to InuYasha and looked at his face. The dog-demon had the same peaceful expression on his face he had the first time she encountered him. Kagome looked at the completed Shikkon jewel and noticed that it felt different. Kagome carefully examined the jewel and noticed that it didn't seem right. Just as she brought it closer to her face, the jewel began to glow with a peculiar light.

"This isn't the sacred jewel…" she thought to herself. Suddenly, the completed jewel pulsed and startled her, causing her to drop it on the floor. The jewel began to glow brightly and then it dissolved into a strange black liquid. Kagome moved back from the ooze and the entire room began to shake.

"What's going on?" she wondered. Kagome exited the small house and walked outside, with the rain still flooding the ground, she heard strange moaning. Kagome turned around and scanned her surroundings, everything felt strange. Her senses told her that it wasn't raining, but yet the water hitting her body felt told her other wise. Kagome became more frightened when the moaning became louder. With no one to protect her, she held the bow tightly in her hands, "Who's there?" she asked.

Kagome moved back as the moans got louder, when suddenly, something bumped her from behind. She felt a cold chill run down her back, when the moans became silent all of the sudden. Reluctantly she turned around and faced the unknown. Shutting her eyes, she faced whatever was behind her.

When she opened them, before her was the Akurei. In her panic, she attempted to push the black mist away, causing it to wail in pain. The black entity was repulsed by her touch and its black shroud disappeared. Its true form was revealed to her, the Akurei was a large sphere of heads. The Akurei was comprised of all of its victims, it was the most horrifying sight she had ever seen. Kagome fell on the wet ground as the Akurei approached her. She put her hand out and made contact with the mass of flesh and bone. Upon touching it, her entire body became cold and she screamed. The Akurei was repelled by her powers and was violently pushed back. The evil spirit flew back and spun around, crashing into all of the small houses.

Kagome opened her eyes and noticed that everything around her was fading away. "What's going on?" She stood up and realized that the rain had stopped, literally. The raindrops were frozen in the air and everything was turning pitch black. Kagome moved back as the Akurei approached her, but she was slow to react and the spirit collided with her.

"Ahhhhh…" Kagome was pushed back. She turned her head and noticed that the ground was gone, there was a black void underneath her. She screamed in terror as she fell into the black abyss.


	5. chapter 5

Title: Nightmare

By: EVL5011  

E-Mail: Omnipotentevil5011yahoo.com

AN: I don't want InuYasha to be the guy that saves the day in this story, because he usually always does. So, I've decided to have someone else destroy the Akurei.

Chapter 5: Awakening

            Kagome woke up in a cold sweat and looked around, she was still inside of the small house. Was it all a bad dream? She asked herself, Kagome stood up and approached InuYasha and Sango. She tapped Sango on the back, but it appeared that she was in a deep sleep.

            "Nooo…" cried Sango. Kagome looked on the floor and noticed that there was a small puddle of tears. Kagome moved away and shook InuYasha.

            "Damn you Naraku…Kagome, don't die…" the hanyou also appeared to be in a deep sleep, in which he couldn't in which she couldn't wake him. The dog-demon was trembling, he appeared to be having a nightmare.

            Kagome stood up and began to worry, "What's going on?" she looked around and walked outside. The next room was destroyed and the rain was pouring inside.

            "Now I remember…Sango destroyed the Akurei, but why do I feel that she didn't." Kagome walked over to the spot where Sango had killed the spirit and examined the floor. "Where are its ashes?" Just as she moved back the stench of rotting corpses filled the air. Kagome turned around and was about to run back inside, when she heard the cries of many people. She froze and hesitated to turn back. Out of the corner of her eye she saw something move past her.

            "InuYasha? Sango?" When nobody answered she knew that the only person or thing that could be behind her was the Akurei. Just as she was about to turn around, a bolt of lightning lit up the destroyed room. The Akurei materialized in front of her. The moans that came from within it caused her heart beat faster, she felt a cold chill run down her entire body, and she knew now that InuYasha and Sango weren't going to wake up anytime soon.

            The black spirit remained perfectly still, as if it were scared of her. "Why isn't it moving?" she wondered. And then it came to her, "Of course! When I was asleep, it was repulsed when I touched it." Kagome moved towards the Akurei and reached out to touch the transparent mist. The Akurei moaned and wailed, it passed through the wall and entered the room where InuYasha and Sango were sleeping. Kagome opened the door and watched as the spirit turned into a small orb and entered into InuYasha's head.

The hanyou began to tremble and shake, "No, Kagome…I don't want to be alone…" the Akurei was inside of InuYasha's dream. Kagome ran over beside him and placed her hand on his head. Suddenly, InuYasha began to shake violently and the Akurei shot out from his head and InuYasha woke up.

"Noooo!" With sweat running down his face, he saw Kagome at his side, "Kagome, you're alive!" He hugged Kagome and heard the moans of the Akurei in the room. He immediately let her go and pretended that it was just a reflex or something. InuYasha and Kagome watched as the Akurei descended above Sango. Also, entering her mind.

Sango began to cry and toss and turn, "Kohaku…I had no choice. Please forgive me!" Kagome and InuYasha quickly moved over to Sango.

"Was that the Akurei?" InuYasha looked at Sango's face and watched as her expression constantly changed. "How do we get that thing out of her?" he asked.

"I have to place my hand on her head, for some reason that drives out the Akurei." Kagome then carefully proceeded by placing her hand on Sango's forehead, instantly her eyes opened and the evil spirit was driven out. The spirit passed through the ceiling of the small room and disappeared, leaving behind the foul smell of death.

Sango stood upright and with was frightened by what she had dreamt. The demon hunter wiped the sweat from her head and began to weep. Kagome and InuYasha comforted her and explained to her what she had experienced. After a few minutes had passed, it appeared that the Akurei was gone.

Feeling uneasy about the whole situation, InuYasha walked outside and raised his head. The large drops of rain hitting him on the face told him that he was awake. He felt relieved that what he had seen and experienced was just a nightmare. He had never known how much it would hurt to lose Kagome until now. Just as he was about to go back inside of the small house he heard the moans from the Akurei again. With lightning illuminating the dark village, he caught a glimpse of the evil entity in the distance. It appeared to stop and call out to him, with the nightmare still fresh in his memory should he dare take on the spirit by himself? The hanyou reached for tetsusaiga and darted towards the evil spirit, he shouted in anger as he approached the black entity.

Kagome and Sango became worried about InuYasha being outside alone, when they heard him shout. InuYasha's shout stopped abruptly and Sango picked up her weapon from the floor and walked outside with Kagome. The two girls noticed that InuYasha was nowhere to be seen. Concerned for his safety, they began to comb the village in hopes of finding him. They entered many of the open houses and found nothing. After a while, they came upon a section of the village that had the stench of rotting corpses.

"The Akurei must be somewhere nearby, its horrible smell is in the air." Sango cautiously entered the village with Kagome. The section of the village that they were in appeared different, as if it had just materialized out of thin air. "Kagome, do you remember seeing this part of the village?"

"No, I haven't." just as Kagome began to look at the exterior of the new houses a child's laughter was heard in front of them. "Did you hear that?" asked Kagome.

Kagome and Sango both asked if there was anyone there, but it was silent once again. Could they be hearing things, they wondered. Just as they continued looking around a black shadow ran beside them, barely brushing against Sango's arm. Startled Sango turned around and saw the shadowy figure of a child run through a wall.

"Did you see that?" asked Sango. The demon hunter was terrified, she had never seen a ghost, and she was accustomed to battling demons. Sango convinced Kagome that they should enter the small house in which the ominous shadow had passed through. The two girls walked towards the house and almost immediately the foul stench in the air grew more intense.

"The Akurei must've just entered this house, it didn't smell so badly before." Sango rubbed her arms and warmed them up a bit. The cold rain was causing her to get goose bumps all over, she even wondered if the cold rain was causing them. Sango approached the small wooden door to the house and reached for its metal handle. The second her fingers made contact with it the voices of many people echoed throughout her mind. She froze and was overwhelmed by the cries for help and Kagome knew that something was wrong.

Kagome pulled Sango's hand off of the handle, "What's wrong?" she asked. Sango remained silent and the small wooden door creaked open. Light was seen through the opening and a strange sound of someone scurrying about was too.

Sango placed her hands over her face and took a deep breath, "Lets go…"

Both girls pushed the door open and were shocked by what they saw. The bodies of the villagers were strewn about on the floor. Kagome and Sango ran towards the villagers and checked to see if any of them were alive. Sadly, none of them were, their pale skin revealed the truth. The two girls headed back outside and checked the other new houses and found the bodies of more villagers, all of them were in the same positions. Kagome and Sango returned to the house that they had entered and knelt down besides the bodies of the villagers.

"They look so peaceful." Kagome stood up and wiped a tear from her cheek. Even after all she had seen, she still felt uneasy seeing the dead.

"The Akurei must taken their souls while they slept. I wonder if the Akurei forced them to suffer in a nightmare before taking their lives." Sango looked down at the deceased and heard something in the next room.

"Why? Why? I don't want to harm any innocent people."  The strange voice was heard clearly from the next room. Suddenly, a different voice was heard arguing with it, "You know that we have to, if we don't the master will force us into the miasma. Then we'll never rest." The two unknown people seemed to be locked in a long argument. "But what we're doing is wrong. We can't rest if we harm innocent people. For all we know, the master could've been the one that killed us in our sleep." From the two voices only one seemed to be the reasonable one. "The master said that InuYasha and his friends killed us with the Shikkon jewel. The jewel has strange powers, it has already increased our strength, what's to say that it couldn't have killed us?" 

Kagome and Sango approached the door and listened to the two voices. The two unknown people argued back and forth. After a minute of listening to this conversation Sango had heard enough. She opened the door and exposed the two people next door. Inside of the room was the Akurei and it was hovering over InuYasha's unconscious body. The Akurei screamed with dozens of voices and moved quickly towards the two girls. Sango pushed Kagome out of the way and was pushed through the wall.

Kagome ran over to InuYasha and shook him, the hanyou was in a deep sleep, and this time she wasn't able to wake him. Kagome turned around and heard Sango battling with the Akurei. She ran back outside and watched as Sango threw her boomerang at the spirit. The large weapon passed right through it and destroyed a nearby house.

The Akurei stopped where it was and began to spin around, the red mist from before began to appear again. Sango grabbed her mask and put it around her face. Kagome on the other hand had no protection from the sleep inducing haze and moved back. Just as she walked backwards she tripped over a rock and the Akurei began to advance on her.

"Stay down!" shouted Sango. She threw her boomerang at the spirit in hopes that it would give Kagome enough time to run away. The weapon cut across the air and rain, howling towards its target. The boomerang passed right through it once more and returned to Sango.

Kagome shielded her self from the Akurei, suddenly a burst of light engulfed her entire body, and the Akurei stopped. The spirit remained still as Kagome looked up, she stood up and looked closely at the shapeless spirit. She put her hand out and touched the black spirit. It wailed and moved away from her, the spirits black shroud disappeared revealing its true form.

Terrified, Kagome ran back towards Sango and watched, as the Akurei became a solid mass. The Akurei was nothing more than the faces and upper torsos of the dead. Many of the faces were crying out in pain and some of the others had sinister smiles. The Akurei was vulnerable and Sango threw her weapon with all of her remaining strength. The frightening mass of flesh exploded into what seemed hundreds of pieces. Its remains showered the two girls and splattered onto the small houses. After the mist of blood and flesh cleared an orb of light hovered in the air.

"What is that?" asked Kagome. The two girls walked over to the sphere of light and heard a vague voice coming from within it. 

"T-Thank you. We're finally free of our eternal damnation." The faint voice said. The light then separated into many smaller ones and began to ascend towards the heavens and in a strange coincidence the storm died out. The sun peeked out from the black clouds and warmed their bodies. On the ground glimmered a small shard of the Shikkon jewel. Kagome and Sango remained still as the entire village disappeared, leaving InuYasha on the wet ground. Kagome walked over to the small shard of the Shikkon jewel and picked it up. She quickly put it away with the others and walked over to InuYasha.

InuYasha opened his eyes and turned his head to the side as the sun shined onto his face. With Kagome and Sango both standing over him, they helped him up. To his surprise the village was gone, but what was left behind was a shock to the hanyou.

"What the hell? Where's the village?" He asked.

"It's gone and so is the Akurei. It seems that Naraku convinced the spirits of the dead that we were responsible for their deaths." Explained Kagome.

InuYasha looked around, five-dozen tombstones surrounded them. The large section of land was the final resting place of villagers that were once slain by Naraku while they slept. Unknown to them they were helping the very demon that had killed them in their sleep.

"So you mean to tell me that the villagers were the Akurei?" asked InuYasha. The hanyou scratched his head and walked out of the mass graveyard with Kagome and Sango.

"Yeah, it was. Ummm...InuYasha, what nightmare did the Akurei give you?" asked Kagome.

"It was nothing, I dreamt that you had gotten more annoying." InuYasha looked away from Kagome, hiding the fact that he cared for her.

They continued walking and Kagome followed closely behind InuYasha. The young girl knew that whatever InuYasha had dreamt had to be bad if he preferred to lie about it. With the long night finally over they made their way back to Lady Kaede's village. All three of them hoping that the nightmares' that they had were just that, and not a premonition of things to come.

THE END.


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